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Tag: Sustainable Arnside

Clock Repairs at Arnside Repair Cafe

Successful First Session of Arnside Repair Cafe

The first Arnside Repair Cafe on the 28th October at the Arnside Educational Institute was a great success and very busy thanks to all the volunteers, repairers and the local residents who brought their items in to seek advice and repair!

  • A range of electrical items were repaired, including hedge-cutters, lamps, hoovers and an iron lead.
  • The textile people offered advice and help to a number of people on the best way to mend their clothing, bags and soft toys.
  • AbilityNet guided people through ways to solve their tech problems such as backing up photos and speeding up slow computers.
  • KingSharp was parked outside sharpening blunt knives, tools and scissors. This is a paid service that proved very popular – so we are planning to get the van back for a regular spot every 3 months.

Tea, coffee and biscuits were kindly provided to people waiting to be seen by the established Arnside Community Cafe that runs every Monday morning.

If you have something you would like to bring to the next repair cafe on Monday, 25th November, you can put a message on the new Arnside Repair Cafe Facebook page or send a picture and message to Alison Sandford on ali@thesandfords.plus.com to check that we have a repairer who can look at your item. Please make sure that all items, particularly clothing, are in a clean condition.

The Arnside Repair Cafe helps to stop waste going to landfill and reduces Arnside residents’ carbon footprint. Cash donations are taken to help towards the running costs of the repair cafe.

Come along, have a cup of tea at Arnside Community Cafe and find out a bit more about what we do!

FREE Thermal Imaging Survey for Arnside Residents

Sustainable Arnside offered this FREE service last year and are offering it again this year to people who are interested in understanding the areas of their home they can insulate better and, in the long run, save money – which I guess is most likely all of us!

Thermal imaging can identify cold spots in your home, such as draughts around windows and doors, missing and defective insulation, water ingress, damp, and cold bridges. It can indicate both quick fixes and areas that require professional advice and support you on your journey to make your home warmer, healthier, cheaper to heat and lower your home’s carbon footprint.

The thermal imaging camera detects the heat emitted by objects and shows it in a colour-coded way – the colder areas are shown in blue and the warmer ones in red.

This year, alongside our amazing army of volunteer thermal imaging surveyors, we are working with two of our Cold to Cosy Homes home energy advisors to provide coverage of the whole of Cumbria. Anyone is eligible for the home survey. Both advisors and volunteers are trained to the same standard and will be offering the same basic thermal imaging survey.

Among the community groups volunteering to offer surveys to their friends and neighbours is Sustainable Arnside. Collectively, these fabulous volunteers will allow at least ten times as many households to benefit from thermal imaging surveys than if Cumbria Action For Sustainability worked alone. They have also provided high spec FLIR cameras which are calibrated to give accurate readings.

The window for conducting thermal imaging is late October as the weather turns colder, through to end of March, before the weather warms up. All surveys are carried out by volunteers in collaboration with Cumbria Action for Sustainability

To register your interest or for further information, contact: thermalarnside@gmail.com

To visit the CAfS website, click here.

Sustainable Arnside Thermal Imaging
Sustainable Arnside Thermal Imaging

People Urged to Dig Out Unwanted Electricals to Tackle

Experts say copper demand is outstripping production – driven in part by sustainable energy projects and electric cars – and the mining process can have devastating environmental and social consequences.

An analysis by Bloomberg Intelligence found that better recycling of electrical goods could help meet that additional demand. “We need to start ‘urban mining’ and help protect the planet and nature from the harmful impacts of mining for raw materials by valuing and using instead what we have already. People often don’t realise that cables and electricals contain valuable materials which, if binned or stashed, everything inside them is lost. Anything with a plug, battery or cable can be reused and recycled and there’s somewhere near you to do it.”

The group is now urging everyone to check its recycling locator for their nearest facility. (Nearest to Arnside is Carnforth Recycling Centre which accepts Electrical Appliances, Batteries and Light bulbs).

Grant Sporre, senior analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, said the world was facing severe shortages of copper within the next five to 10 years. “The building of renewable power generation in the form of wind and solar farms, and the switch from petrol and diesel cars to electric, could keep copper demand growing at 2.5 to 3% per annum. Better recycling practices and efficiencies will be needed to close this gap.”

Cables represent one of the UK’s biggest e-waste challenges, according to research, with UK households throwing away or holding on to an average of 23 cables. Research by the Critical Minerals Association has identified that they contain at least 20% copper – meaning that across all UK households, cables alone could contribute 3,251 tonnes of metal.

The Royal Society of Chemistry [RSC] has calculated 347,000 tonnes of copper would be needed to build the required number of wind turbines and solar panels by 2030. “The UK needs to wake up to just how important copper is in achieving our greener future,” said Izzi Monk, RSC policy adviser for the environment. “We are potentially facing imminent and substantial supply concerns where we won’t be able to meet the global demand for this vital material. That’s why we’re calling for government to commit to a strategic, joined-up approach to materials that considers these supply risks.”

Taken from an article in The Guardian

‘Repair Cafe’ to Launch in Arnside This Autumn

Sustainable Arnside is starting up a Repair Cafe in Arnside this Autumn having recently been sucessful in being awarded a £1,580 grant by Cumbria Action for Sustainability to start up this social community event. Volunteer repairers will fix broken items brought in to the cafe, helping to reduce waste, consumption and carbon emissions.

The initial talk ‘What is a Repair Cafe?’ is on Wednesday, 18th September at the Arnside Educational Institute at 7.30pm.

On Monday, 30th September there is a meeting at the Community Cafe at the E.I.from 10-11am. This is for people wanting to find out more and who are interested in getting involved with Arnside Repair Cafe. They are looking for people who like to repair items and general volunteers to help run the sessions.

The first monthly Arnside Repair Cafe will take place Monday, 28th October at the Community Cafe from 10am-12 noon.

Arnside Repair Cafe is being funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and are part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership’s ambitious emission reduction programme to make Cumbria carbon neutral by 2037.

For further information, contact Alison Sandford on 07735851481 or email: ali@thesandfords.plus.com


Bus Timetable Poster

Improved Bus Service in Arnside!

Arnside now has a bus service to Kendal (552) on 6 days of the week. From Monday to Saturday, the bus will leave the Promenade at 9.30am, travelling though Milnthorpe, Heversham and Natland to Kendal. The return journey will leave Kendal Bus Station at 1.15pm.

On Tuesdays, the 550 will leave the Promenade at 9.30am, travelling via Carnforth to Morecambe. The return journey will be from Morrisons in Morecambe, leaving at 1.15pm.

There is an option to catch the school bus (99) to Kirkby Lonsdale during term time, leaving the the Promenade at 7.45am.

The reason for the improved service is that the Department for Transport has awarded Westmorland and Furness Council £1.7 million of Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus (BSIP+) funding to enhance services across the area in 2024/25.

To ensure that services supported by the latest tranche of BSIP+ funding meet the needs of communities and lead to well-supported provision, the Council has launched a consultation offering residents, businesses and visitors the opportunity to shape spending plans.

To have your say and complete the online Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus Funding Consultation, click here. The consultation ends on 30th April.

Councillor Neil Hughes, Cabinet Member for Transport and Environmental Services, said: “The £1.7 million funding awarded to our council, supports us in taking a significant step towards enhancing bus provision across Westmorland and Furness. Living in a rural area like ours, providing more frequent, enhanced services will open the door for our residents and visitors to choose travelling by bus as their preferred way to travel and create more enjoyable, sustainable journeys for all. It is the Council’s ambition to allocate the funding towards creating a network of well-supported bus services that moves us closer towards achieving our net-zero ambitions. We recognise that in order to do so, supported routes must meet the needs of communities and visitors across the area. I encourage you to take part in our consultation, whether you currently use bus transport or you aspire to, to make sure we get the most out of every pound that we spend.”

Six drop-in sessions have been arranged at various locations in April, providing communities the chance to engage directly with the Sustainable Transport Team and share their perspectives. Sessions will be held on the following dates in Barrow-in-Furness, Grange, Kendal, Kirkby Stephen, Penrith, Sedbergh and Ulverston:

  • Penrith Library – Thursday, 4th April, 10am to 2pm
  • Westmorland Shopping Centre, Kendal – Wednesday, 10th April,10am to 2pm
  • Grange Library – Thursday, 11th April, 10am to 2pm
  • Methodist Church, Kirkby Stephen – Thursday, 18th April, 5.30pm to 6.30pm
  • Sedbergh Medical Centre – Tuesday, 23rd April, 5.30pm to 6.30pm
  • The Coronation Hall, Ulverston – Thursday, 25th April, 10am to 2pm
  • The Forum, Barrow-in-Furness. Friday, 26th April, 10am to 2pm

For those unable to attend during the day, an online event has been arranged on Wednesday, 24th April from 6pm to 7pm. To receive a link to join, please email media@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk.

The Council is also exploring the possibility of holding additional public meetings at locations across the area.

Paper copies of the survey will be available to complete at Westmorland and Furness Council Libraries in Barrow, Grange, Kendal and Penrith from Monday, 25 March until the end of the consultation period on Tuesday 30 April.

For more information about bus services across Westmorland and Furness, visit westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk

Pen & Correction Fluid Recycling

Sustainable Arnside

Sustainable Arnside is gathering strength and gathering a small fan club since supporting the ‘Retrofit made Easy’ event, arranged by Helen Chaffey and CAfS. It was a tremendous success and Paul Bates, the Chairman, introduced the Group to the large audience.

The audience was given the opportunity to have their say as to what they would like the group to focus on as, with so much that could be done, it was felt that local residents should be the guide.

A questionnaire completed at the meeting gave important feedback, and. with that feedback in mind, they can now make plans for the future.

As their first initiative, Sustainable Arnside is delighted to offer Arnside residents and visitors the opportunity to recycle pens and other writing implements.  All spent pens and correction fluid can now be recycled at. Arnside Fish and Chip shop, who have kindly provided a collection point at their premises.  

A plastic collection box can be found just beyond the takeaway entrance on the wall, close to the tin foil/can recycling bin. Its clearly labelled (see below) showing a list of what is accepted and what is not.  For full details see poster below.

New Group For Arnside – Sustainable Arnside

‘Sustainable Arnside’ is a new community-led group in the village that is planning to support Arnside village when facing the challenges of Climate Change. While aware that everyone is on their own journey regarding the contributions of humans to climate change and what to do about it, and certainly not telling anyone what they should believe or what they should do, these are personal choices. However, if you believe the amount of carbon we are producing, nationally and locally, is dangerous and needs to be addressed, they are here to help.

The Government has set deadlines regarding how we heat our homes and how we use our transport, and these deadlines are looming ever closer. Households in Arnside and beyond now need to visualise how they might meet those deadlines, which is often not an easy task. The group aims to offer guidance and help to those who are trying to make those changes – you might even save some money by addressing your carbon footprint!

If you have any great ideas or suggestions but don’t have time yourself, they would be delighted to hear from you. Contact them by email at: p.bates@lancaster.ac.uk with Sustainable Arnside in the subject line.

You can view, download or print their Mission Statement below.